My Daughter's Keeper
by GKmon
Summary: ONESHOT. The morning after Katie confesses her secret to her father, Sam finds herself the next in line to comfort their daughter. Sequel to "Worries of a Parent"


It was nine o'clock in the morning. The boys were at school, Danny was at work, and Sam had the house to herself.

Well, mostly.

Her daughter, Katie, still very exhausted from the events of the previous night, had stayed home that day. As far as Sam knew, the teen-ager was still in bed.

She entered the living room and seated herself on the couch.

Sam knew what had happened; Danny had told her the details before he left. She'd guessed right in that Katie would probably want to talk to her father first about being half-ghost. That matter didn't bother her any. If she had been in her daughter's shoes, she would have done the same thing.

"Mom?"

Sam turned her head. Katie was standing at the foot of the stairs, gripping the railing for balance.

"Are you okay, hun?

"Define okay," the raven-haired girl snapped.

Sam cocked an eyebrow at her daughter's comment.

"Sorry," Katie amended. "I'm... better, I guess."

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Well," Katie began. "I, um... Er... Oh, crud, I don't know where to start."

"The beginning is always a good place."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I know." She sighed. "I just don't really know for sure where that is."

Sam patted the seat next to her. "You might want to sit down, I have a feeling this will take a while."

Katie nodded, before wobbling her way to the couch and sitting next to her mother. She took a deep breath. "I'm still not sure how to start."

"Katie, if it's what I think it is, your father told me already."

Katie's eyes widened. "He... he told you?"

"If you're still not comfortable talking about it, you don't have to." Sam put her hand on Katie's shoulder. "I know it's not an easy subject to talk about."

"No, no. I might as well get it over with," Katie answered.

Sam nodded. "Alright, then. Just start however you feel is right."

After a moment, Katie took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not even talking to either you or Dad about it in the first place." She hugged her knees to her chest. "I, er... I was..."

"Scared?"

"Well... yeah, I guess."

"Of what?"

Katie bit her lip and stared at her feet.

"That we wouldn't accept you for being a halfa? Or that we'd be angry with you for taking off and fighting ghosts?"

Katie continued to look sullenly at her toes.

"Katie, in case you've forgotten in the fourteen years you've been around, I _married_ a halfa. And he'd been my best friend for years before that. Did you really think that I wouldn't accept my own daughter if she turned out like him? Or that your father would shut you out for being what you are?"

Katie looked back at her mother, from the corner of her eye.

"As for you fighting ghosts, yes, we have been worried about you. That _is_ a parent's job. We didn't know where you were or what you were doing, and the fact that you wouldn't talk about it _did_ make us worry more."

She pulled Katie into a gentle embrace. "But more than anything, we're proud of you. I don't know how long you've had your powers, or when you decided to use them the way you have been, but it took your father over a month to figure out what his powers were for. We're proud that you reached that decision on your own and that you've been trying to do the right thing."

Katie stared at her feet again.

"_Katie_," Sam murmured, in an effort to redirect her daughter's attention.

Katie squeezed her eyes shut, and a stream of a tears flowed down her face. "I'm sorry!" she gasped, as she threw her arms around Sam's neck.

"Shh, shhh," she soothed, as she patted Katie on the back. "There's no need to be sorry."

Katie looked up again, her bright blue eyes still brimming with tears and beginning to glow a soft green.

"Katie, whatever happens, I want you to remember this. No matter what anyone tells you, your father and I love you very much, and you'll always be our daughter. Your being half-ghost isn't ever going to change that."

It took a moment, but after a long wait, Katie smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

DPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDP

_Two weeks later..._

Sam looked up from the sink and out the window. It was a clear night, and the moon was full. Nights like this always reminded her of the numerous adventures she, Danny, and their friends would have as teen-agers fighting off ghosts; they had certainly been among the highlights of her life.

She was about to look down again, but something in the yard had caught her eye.

_What on earth...?_ she thought.

Danny was standing in the middle of the yard, staring at something in the sky.

She left the kitchen and hurried to the back door.

"Danny?" she called out. "What are you doing out here at this time of night?"

He turned his head to her and smiled. "Come on out here, and you'll see in a minute."

"Danny, why can't we just watch... whatever it is, from inside? It's frigid out there."

"Oh, trust me, it's not as good from a window."

Sam groaned in exasperation. "Fine." She shivered as she stepped out into the cool autumn air.

She stood next to her husband and followed his gaze. But all she saw were the stars and the moon.

"Alright, what are you seeing that I'm not?"

"It's not there, yet." Danny answered. "You'll probably hear it first, anyway."

Sam stared at him for a moment, incredulity plain on her face.

Then she heard it. The sound of laughter. She looked back up at the sky, searching for the source. Soon, she saw the figure of a teen-aged girl with long white hair and bright green eyes, soaring gleefully among the stars.

She smiled.

"So, I guess she's doing better? Now, that she doesn't have to keep it secret from us?"

"It certainly seems that way," Danny answered, folding his arms across his chest.

Sam sighed in relief, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"She really is a lot like you."


End file.
